Source: https://www.ama-assn.org/medical-students/preparing-residency/do-match-trends-how-osteopathic-specialty-footprint-broadening (accessed July 20, 2026)
Within medicine, the equivalence of osteopathic (DO) and allopathic (MD) training is well established. Where understanding still lags is with the public — and that gap, rather than any question about the physicians themselves, is what the College’s DO to MD Pathway is designed to help address.
A profession on the rise. A New York Times feature by Teddy Rosenbluth (July 13, 2025) captured how far osteopathic medicine has come. The number of DOs has grown roughly 70% over the past decade, and more than one in four U.S. medical students now trains at an osteopathic school. DOs serve in prominent roles — from NASA’s chief medical officer to physicians across three presidential administrations — prompting AOA then-President Teresa Hubka to observe that osteopathic physicians are “everywhere.” Even so, the piece acknowledged that public familiarity with the DO degree still trails the profession’s growth.
What the Match data show. Recent results confirm how settled the equivalence question is within the profession. In the 2026 Main Residency Match, 93.2% of U.S. DO seniors earned a PGY-1 position — the highest rate on record, and close to the 93.5% rate for U.S. MD seniors (American Medical Association, July 2026). The AMA credits much of this convergence to the single graduate medical education accreditation system, adopted in 2020, under which DO and MD trainees meet common standards. Residency programs, in short, already evaluate the two as equals.
Where public understanding lags. Patients are often less informed. National survey research has found that fewer than half of Americans are even aware of the osteopathic profession — one study measured awareness at 46% (Licciardone JC. Awareness and use of osteopathic physicians in the United States: results of the Second Osteopathic Survey of Health Care in America (OSTEOSURV-II). J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2003;103(6):281-289). Many do not know that a DO completes the same licensing examinations, residency training, and board certification as an MD. This is a communication gap, not a competence gap.
A remedy the profession already models. Notably, osteopathic medicine has long pointed toward a solution of its own. The AOA has identified its founder as “Andrew Taylor Still, MD, DO,” pairing both designations for the very physician who established the profession. Recognizing a well-qualified DO with the MD designation as well is therefore consonant with osteopathic tradition — an extension of it, not a departure from it.
What the pathway offers. For osteopathic physicians who wish to make their qualifications more immediately clear to patients, the College’s DO to MD Pathway offers an optional route to a Doctor of Medicine diploma or Certificate of Equivalency. It recognizes training already completed — not additional coursework, and not a replacement for the DO degree, which retains its full value and distinct osteopathic tradition. The situation begs the question: “Why shouldn’t all well-qualified US doctors of osteopathic medicine have the same option to use the post-nominal initials DO and MD if they wish?” The choice rests entirely with the individual physician.
Who is eligible. The pathway is intended for U.S.-trained osteopathic physicians who have graduated from an AOA-accredited osteopathic medical school, hold (or have held) an unrestricted U.S. state medical license in good standing, completed ACGME- or AOA-accredited residency training, are board-certified or board-eligible, and have a clear background and offender screen.